Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-01-21

,,aoox1yS, Jan. 9.-This morning, at
tabernacle, the Rev. I. De Witt Tai.
d. D.. expounded some passages OF
es .,.,re concerning the longevity of the
~ II! l" ."h He gave out the hymn begin
pig NV doys arc gliding swiftly by,
And I, pilgrim stranser,
,rmid not detain them as they fly,
WIN" Thnse hours Of toll and danger
-. .ort was Genesis Xvii. g.: "How Old
I'i ThonY" The preacher said:
1,,a Esyptian capital was tho focus of
IT. Az r. wealth. In ships and barges
e.. @1 had been brought to it from India
ere l,.;ncense. and cinnamon, and ivory
aiia ai;nmonds; from the north, marble and
a. IA. o' from Syria, purple aud silk; from
on ,o ai. some Of the finest horses in the
le ,a and some Of the most brilliant
ORD l;s,s ~" md from all the earth that which
Pa .1a hast please the eye, and charm the
u'o md nd crafty the taste. There were
I,,i 1nN aiiamc with red sandstone, en-
n MI, by the cateways that were guarded by
r nar. i bewildering with hieroglyphics, ard
1 li.,,1 With brazen serpents, and adorned
o o., u moe creatures-their eyes, and
a ats " and pinions glittering with precious
Guns anas 49, There we're marble columns
ones aa';no into white flower beds; there
o Sa s,o1e pillars, ct the top bursting into
err sh 'su Of the lotus when in full bloom.
ss sn" Inc avenues. lined with sphinx and
lons an1 obelisk, there were princes who
~ ~. IN" IN 1poreeously upholstered palanquin,
l l." Iy servants in scarlet or else
a ta,s' drawn by vehicles, the snow
h It1s horses. golden bitted and six
l naost doshins at full run. There were
,.,. from stone wreathed vases climb
u The ladders of the light. You would
l,ra holt shove and door of brass would
GU ,an ! like a fash of the sun. The surround
r. r ssrlens were saturated with edors that
ssnSntaj the terrace and dripped from the
r bo,4 and burned their incense In the
'a uu noon. On foors of mosaic the
E lor I Of Pharaoh were spelled out i'll let
ers OF porphyry and beryl and flame.
There were ornaments twisted from the
Food of tamarisk, embossed with silver,
raalne into foam. There were footstools
pade out of single precious stone. There
Fere beds fashioned out of a crouched lion
bronze There were chairs spotted with
be sleek hides of leopards. There were
HAS footed with the claws of wild beasts
nd armed with the beaks of birds. AS you
and on the level beach of the sea on
bmmer day and look either way, and there
. miles OF breakers, white with the ocean
nam, dashing shoreward; SO it seemed rs
the sea OF the worlds pomp and wealth
the Egyptian capital for miles and miles
ing itself up into white breakers of mar
he temple, nlausoleum and obelisk.
1t was to this capital and the palace Of
Pharaoh that Jacob, the plain shepherd,
anne to meet his son Joseph, who had be-
ONE prime minister in the royal apartment.
haraoh and Jacob meet. dignity and rus
city, the gacefulncss of the court and the
lain manners of the field. The king, want
g to make the old countryman at ease,
nd seeing how white his belrd is and how
PEBBLE his step, looks familiarly into his
Ice and says 10 the aged man: slow old
Ii thou?"
Night before last the gate of eternity
pened to let in, nmid the great throng of
eparted centuries, the soul of the dying
ear. Under the twelfth stroke of the
'razen hammer Of the city clock the patri-
reh fell dead, and the stars OF the night
we're the funeral torches. It is most
ortnnate that on this road Of life there are
70 many mlestones, Oh which we can read
ust how fast We are going toward the Jour-
leys end. | feel that it is not an inappro-
Pnae question that l ask to-day when /
cok INTO your faces and say, as Pharnoh
Id to Jacob, the patriarch: Chow old art
hor?"
People who are truthful ON every other
|ahlect lie about their ages, SO that l do
ot solicit from You any literal response to
ne question have asked. would put no
ne under temptation; but simply want,
ms morning, to see by what rod il is we
ne =, measuring our earthly existence. 1t is
Flth reference to this higher meaning that
CONFRONT you, this morning, with the stu
endous question Of the text, and ask:
How old art thou?"
mere are many who estimate their life by
mere worldly qualification. When Lord
1a NM g., was wished happy New Year, he
Siu IL VIII have to be happier year
nan The past, for l hadn't one happy mo-
eh' IN all the twelve months that have
one. But that has not been the
SperIence OF most of us. We have
ound that though the world is blasted
lsA SID, 1t is very bright and beautiful
laoe to reside in. We have had Joys
lnumerat'le. There is 20 hostility be-
'eeh the gospel and the alerriments and
ie festivities of life. DO not think that
iuliy eneug b appreciate the worldly
lelsures God gives US. When you recount
o ou. eh}oyments, you do not go far enough
,"a Why do you not go back to the time
neh you were an infant ia your mothers
, as, looking up into the heaven of her
alie' 10 those days when you filled the
" an. with the uproar. of boisterous merri-
eu,' When you shouted as you pitched
Va = 'a al on the play ground; when, on the
Ill., ~. sharp winter night, muffied up, on
fs n you shot ont over the resounding ice
po we pond? Have you forgotten all those
an ,Ou uavs that the Lord gave you? We're
y, ~. eever a boy? Were you never a girl?
e es! those times and this, how many
s %. u how many kindnesses the Lord
~ a,o Bestowed upon you. How many joys
WE - pfeathed up to you from the flowers,
bsn .none down to you from the stars, and
;sa 1i'eo to You with the voice of soaring
~ aAsi tumbling cascade, and booming
, 10, aha shunders that with bsycnets of fire
o, Meeq down the mountain side! Joy!
ny 10y! If there is any one who
!. = !. Hsht to the enjoyments of the world
49, 40 aae CAristan, for God has given him a
,a'e 20 everything in the promise: "All
yours" But l have to tell YOU that q
a au VINO estimates his life on earth by
an AM worldly qualification is most unwise
'aa. our Life is not to he a game of
n isI' II IS not dance in lighted hall. to
E a,Jh music. 1t is not the froth of an ale
r,,ne5 :. 1t is not the settings of a wine
M ,a' ~ Is not banquet With intoxication
daa aoystering. 1t is the first step on q
rst ~ mat mounts into the skies, or the